We Were There
by Lii and Eii
Summary: L and his successors rush to Japan to solve the kira case. But who are the successors really? Don't they have a story to tell, too? By eii.
1. Meet John

**Disclaimer: Me? Own Death Note? You make me laugh.**

A large black car pulled up in front of Wammy's House, an orphanage for gifted children. A tall man stepped out. Watari hurried towards the visitor.

"Wammy' house… They're all here, correct?" The man asked.

"Yes, sir. L and each in line." Watari responded with a salute.

The man was John Mcenroe. An agent for the American FBI. John Mcenroe was of course, a fake name. These days no one dared tell a name, they were always false.

Watari welcomed the man inside, and they walked through the halls of the orphanage, as children giggled and darted past them on their way inside from recess.

"Why don't we get L first?" Watari suggested. John gave a nod. They opened a large door to the room L was in. L was awkwardly standing atop a kitchen table, hunched over. The room was dim and quiet, the only light coming from L's computer.

"Yes, Watari?" L asked, scratching one foot with the other and pulling his hands out of his pockets.

"Come to my office. Do you mind retrieving the others from their rooms as well?"

Watari smiled softly. L nodded, and Watari shut the door, leading John to the office.

"All right guys… I give up. You heard the man. Time to introduce ourselves…" L said. Surely enough, the 3 others crawled out of their hiding spots.

"L, you suck at hide and seek." Mello whined. His eyes widened when he saw Near had already climbed out of his hiding place and dusted himself off.

"Second for THAT, too?" Mello complained.

The youngest successor, a girl of 14, slowly submerged from under the table L was standing on. She lifted a bony arm, placing her hand on the table,and clinging to it for support as she stood.

"At least you're not always third, like Every." Near mumbled. L leaned over and ruffled Every's messy brown hair. She scrunched her nose and her hand slipped off the table. She clenched her fists, and grinned. The four began to walk to the office with slow pace. When they finally arrived, they sat on a long, velvet couch. L sat in his usual manner, Mello lounged across the top of the chair, Every sat much like L, with her legs pinned together. Near sat with one knee to his face. John blinked, then looked to Watari.

" Care to introduce yourselves?" John asked.

"L…. call me Ryuuzaki, please." L said.

"Near."

"Mello. She's Every." Mello said, pointing from himself to the girl with his thumb. Every gave a grin.

"Well. They're certainly not the most attractive bunch, now are they?" John retorted. The young detectives stared blankly at them. L chewed his thumb. After a long minute of silence, Watari spoke. " Sir, I understand they're not what you're used to, but respect the fact that L is leading the Kira case, and one of the children will take over, one day, God forbid something happens." Watari stammered. L's eyes traced the window. Near twirled his hair. Every traced a finger along the hem of her black dress. Mello's eyes widened, and he stared at the ceiling.

"Speaking of the kira case, I'd like you to hand the death note over to America." John said.

"I'm sure you would. But there's no way in hell you're getting it from us." Mello snapped. Every grinned and shrugged.

" You touch that notebook, you die." Near said. John leaned forward. Mello tossed the notebook down into Every's arms. She proceeded to open it. The 13 day rule was displayed to all. She looked up to John, eyes blank.

"Would you like to die, Mr. Mcenroe?" She asked.

**That's it for now! Please review! 5 reviews and I'll update?**


	2. The Scoresheet

**Sorry it's so late! Thank you for all the reviews! Plot bunnies have been stalking me all day… hopefully this will answer some questions you all had! ^-^ *throws confetti* and…. CHOCOLATE FOR ALL WHO REVIEWED! **

**Mello: D:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything… but I do own Every and this story. X3**

"Scores have been posted in the hall… After seeing your score, go DIRECTLY to your rooms. No pushing, please. Class dismissed." Roger sighed, sinking into his chair at the desk in from of the room.

Children filed out the class, in hopes they'd moved up in ranking. Matt was no exception.

"Let's see if we're still tied." Matt said, looking down at Every, who was still sitting at her desk, scribbling words and sketches with her crayons. Matt turned, and marched out the door, eager to see the list. Every followed close behind, staring at the tile floor.

As soon as they turned the corner to check the rankings for that week, Matt's eyes rolled.

"Tied for third. Again." He sighed, shutting his eyes. "I don't see why Roger can't just give us an extra test. We're-" the redhead was interrupted by a loud shriek.

"DAMNIT!" Mello screamed. "SECOND!"

Matt sighed and rushed to his friend's side. Every ran to Near's.

Mello had studied all night for that test. He was furious. So furious, in fact, that he wouldn't be holding back this time.

Mello gripped the collar of Near's shirt. Near glanced to Matt. The boy had pulled a DS out of his vest pocket and was playing it.

_**Seriously?**_

He looked to Every. She was staring at her feet, her hands were balled into fists, just in case aggression was needed.

_**Thanks, but… I doubt someone like you can punch anyone with enough force, let alone Mello. **_he told the girl silently.

Mello's anger was building up. He released one hand from the grip on Near's collar.

"I hate you, Near! I hate you, I hate you!" He screamed in the smaller boy's face as his fist collided with it.

"Mello…?"

Mello's face froze. He let go of the albino, letting his arms drop to his sides, one hand still tight in a fist.

"L…" He mumbled in fear.

"Mello. Why don't you go in your room and study?" L asked.

Mello stomped down the hall. He was never one to follow orders, but this was L. No way in hell would he deny his idol. No way in hell.

"Near…." L mumbled, signaling down to the boy's shirt. Near looked down, only to find it had been stains with specks of red.

"What…?" He muttered, stretching the white shirt out for a better look.

"Blood, Near." Every said apathetically.

"Nosebleed." L mumbled.

"He musta hit you pretty hard." Matt said, looking up from his DS.

Near cupped a hand around his nose in attempt to save his shirt. 

_**Is that… really blood? I've never seen my own blood before…**_

Near's eyes widened at the mere thought.

"Why don't we go back to my room to clean that up… there's someone there to meet all of you anyway." L suggested in his usual tone. The children all looked up to the young man's face and nodded. They all began walking to L's room, L walking slowly behind. Mello sighed from around the corner, chewing on a bar of chocolate. He let it snap between his teeth, and listened to the sound of their bare feet slapping the floor. He paused, grimaced, and decided to head back to his room for more chocolate.

L paused, and clapped his hands together for his heirs' attention. They huddled around him with curious faces.

"The man you're about to meet…" L said, looking at the ceiling "Is a suspect."

" Y' mean… We're meeting kira?" Matt yelled, but cupped a hand over his mouth after receiving glares. "…sorry."

" We need to stay quiet… This man is very intelligent, and he knows how to hide suspicion well. If he hears any of this, who knows what act he'll put on." L warned. The children nodded. L decided to give them his instruction.

" Remember, aliases. Keep your face out of his view as much as possible without suspicion." He said.

"Alrighty!" Matt said, snapping his orange goggles over his face with a goofy grin.

"We also don't want him to know you know anything about the kira case. I believe y life may be in danger for suspecting him, and I still need one of you to replace me, should something happen." He reminded. The children nodded again.

"Doesn't Mello need to hear this?" Matt asked, and Near looked to the ceiling, silently praying the boy wouldn't be meeting this mystery suspect along with him.

"Mello knows we're meeting someone. And I'm 97% positive he knows well enough to follow these guidelines without me telling him." L reassured, biting his thumb.

L signaled for them to continue to his room. He followed close behind, observing them as they marched. As they turned the corner and arrived at their destination, L stepped in front of the group and opened the door, allowing them entrance.

"Everyone… Meet Light Yagami."

**I promise I'll update soon as I can this time!** **I have a research paper to work on, so I multi-task! I'm so glad I'm not doing finals yet….**

**X3 yay!**

**Any questions, feel free to pm me. Oh, and Reviews are love! Reviewing will get you some of Mello's chocolate! (I know where he hides his stash…..) And Matt will give you hugs! Or near, if you prefer. Even Every! (not sure who wants her to hug them… but okay! Every: T_T)**

**Review, friends!**


	3. Light Yagami comes to visit

**Suggested theme: Mello's theme: .com / watch? v=O294eFdv9w8&feature= related (no spaces)**

"This is Light Yagami."

The children stared. Light smiled pleasantly at them. The mood that filled the room, however, was far from pleasant. The entire space felt tense, full of staring eyes.

"L?" Light chuckled, "Are they alright?".

L turned to face them, then back to Light.

"Yes, they're fine. Why would anything be wrong with them?" He questioned, tilting his head to his right, his eyes wide with an intense gaze.

"I was just curious," Light walked to the sucessors, "Nice to meet you!", he said with a grin, outstretching his hand to Near.

"No thank you." Near responded. Light moved on to Mello for a handshake. Mello simply brushed him off, tilting his head so his chin touched his neck, and his hair covered his eyes.

"He's shy." Near lied. Mello simply tilted his head a bit and glared at the boy. Light looked to the other 2 children, and saw that the girl was hiding under her hair as well, only he could hardly make up the shape of her head, because the hair was long and knotty. The boy, a redhead, seemed to be focused on the girl's bare feet, because his head was turned away from Light and towards the ground.

"Maybe we should sit down." L suggested, nodding his head towards the arrangement of couches and cushioned chairs in the center of the dark room.

"Sure…" Light said with a confused tone, still curious about the children's bashfulness. He shook it off, deciding now was not the time to analyze their body language. _They're only children, right?_ He thought with a laugh as he followed the children who were still hunched over, staring at the floor. The redhead lifted his head, but only for a moment, and he turned his head slightly to get an image of the strange new visitor, the kira suspect. Light composed himself, looking as natural as he could, and the boy turned his head back, but this time, didn't stare at his feet. He stood straight, and threw himself onto a nearby couch, landing in the strangest of positions. His feet were above his head, and his head was dangling off the couch. Light chuckled and sat in a chair, crossing his legs as he waited for the others to sit. L took the chair next to him. Everyone was silent, and the room was tense.

"These are my…. Cousins." L stated, and the children lifted their heads a bit, eyes wide with surprise. Was L lying to the guest? It made sense, but it was such a silly lie.

"Hello… Mind sharing your names?" Light smiled.

"Call me N."

"Mello."

"E. Every."

"Matt." Each child's voice was hardly over a grumble. Light sighed. _They sure are difficult… how can L stand these kids? _He wondered, glancing to his right, at L, who was biting his thumb.

"Yeah, they'll be coming back with us, to Japan." L informed. This time, they each lifted their heads completely, staring in awe at L.

"Surprise." He laughed. Light had a pleasant smile painted across his face.

"It's nice to hear I'll be getting to know you all better." He said, adjusting his tie.

"Cake?" L asked the group. Light rolled his eyes and the successors stared back at the floor. "More for me." He shrugged, awkwardly stepping onto the table and snatching a slice of strawberry shortcake as the others watched on.

"When will we be leaving for Japan?" Near questioned L, twirling his hair.

"Next week."

**Sorry it's short. You know me. I'm sorry! Forgive me! *bows***


	4. Even Geniuses Need Their Sleep

For the first time in quite a few days, the children were in a brightly lit room. L had left back to his hotel to prepare himself for the trip back to Japan, as well as work a bit more with the task force, and the four were told to pack as well.

"Damnit." Mello grunted, squirming on top of his suitcase as he struggled to get it closed. Chocolate bars poured out the sides.

"Mells, Why don't you cut down on the sweets?" Matt suggested with a goofy grin. Mello rolled his eyes and jumped off the luggage, slamming his hands down in another failed attempt to enclose the treats.

"Absolutely not." He grumbled between clenched teeth, and Matt laughed to himself. Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Near quietly organized his toys into neat suitcases, and Every hummed as she delicately placed stacks and stacks of blank white paper into her suitcases, with a separate case for her collection of assorted crayons.

"Every?" Mello said, turning to her.

"Hmm?" She barely responded, still staring in interest at her multiple crayons.

"You haven't packed a change of clothes…."

The room fell silent for a moment. They each broke from their frozen positions and continued packing. Every blushed. She'd always been around boys, boys who never changed clothes nonetheless, and never really thought about how she dressed. Fingering a black strap on her dress, she sighed. _I always see Linda and the other girls wearing all sorts of clothes._ Had the other girls noticed? Every didn't even brush her hair. L didn't brush his, and if he was so successful, did neat hair even matter? Every pondered the thought as she glanced back and forth at her companions.

"Children!" Roger gasped, clutching the doorknob, "You're all awake? It's very late, you have a flight tomorrow afternoon."

"It's only one, Roger," Mello sighed.

"One is far too late for someone of your age," Roger sighed, "Aren't any of you tired?"

"Is L tired?" Near asked.

"You cannot follow L in everything. Especially his… habits. Rest." Roger ordered, pointing a scolding finger at them and then turning to leave, gently shutting the door behind him.

"Ridiculous," Mello grumbled, throwing himself on his bed,"L is always right, we have every reason to copy him!"

"Pfft. Listen to yourself, Mells. Honestly." Matt laughed.

"It's pathetic." Near muttered under his breath.

"Shut your face!" Mello spat. Every walked to the light switch and flicked it to the off-setting. Each successor let a sigh escape their mouths and gathered on their large bed. They had their own beds, of course, but they all secretly enjoyed huddling together under the silky white sheets of Mello's bed. Mello grumbled, annoyed that his younger "siblings" were so clingy. He sighed, and smiled a bit as he felt the others lightly grip his hands, aside from Near, who preferred to sleep untouched.

"Good night… big brother…" They each mumbled to Mello as they drifted to sleep.

" 'Night…" he whispered with a soft smile.

**Yes, this takes place a week after their meeting with Light. I hope you enjoyed, and if so, REVIEW! I love hearing your feedback, and even anonymous reviews are accepted. Reviews inspire me to continue! **


	5. Ghosts

**I don't own anything ^-^ I recommend reading this in ½, perhaps dark.**

The night was still, and the chests of each child rose and fell peacefully. Near's eyes opened slowly, glancing behind him to make sure he wasn't waking anyone. He felt relieved when he saw they were all sleeping. The boy slowly stood, whispering to himself. "L does not sleep." He continued on, and carefully lifted a tin of dominoes from his desk. "L…L thinks."

X WE WERE THERE X

Near tapped at a domino. They toppled on top of each other, and Near twirled his hair as they did. He didn't notice Every was awake and saw how the dominoes had been arranged.

It was a simple cloister-black font L.

X WE WERE THERE X

"Don't go!" The children called, "We'll miss you, We'll miss you!"

Mello and Matt grinned proudly at the crowd of orphans surrounding the four. Near and Every hunched over and stared at their feet.

"Are you all ready to leave, then?" L laughed, placing hands on Near and Mello's shoulders.

"Let me soak this in a bit more, okay?" Mello said, grinning and waving royally to the crowd, "I'm enjoying this." L laughed.

"No, No, time to leave. Don't you want to help me?" Mello nodded fiercely and waved as he followed the other four.

"Goodbye, Goodbye!" They called, and they all waved. L stepped outside the plane for a moment.

"Study hard, and remember to do what is right!" He told the orphans.

"Yes, L! We will!" They giggled.

X WE WERE THERE X

"L, is this case hard?" Mello asked, fidgeting in his seat.

"Solving this case is like when I am trying to find the light switch at night and I stub my toe," L informed, "Because I'm an idiot," He added. Watari chuckled and smiled at the children. Even L, to him, seemed just their age, as if they were all friends and schoolmates. But he knew quite well that to them, L was everything. He knew they would never show him the respect they paid L. Mello especially.

"Does anything frighten you?" Every asked.

"Well… Maybe ghosts." He told them, and they laughed.

"However, there are several things that can scare me," He continued, "Those who play left-handed shooting at people without being seen. Those who kidnap children. Those who take the dreams of others. Those who suck the blood. And then…" He paused, as if collecting his thoughts. "Those who always con people. That kind of 'ghost' scares me the most. Those who behave like humans without ever having tried a thrill. Those who eat if they have never been hungry. Those who study if they do not have any interest. Those who defend friends even if they do not have any. I too, could not do anything in front of a ghost of that kind." They nodded, but L had one thing left to say.

"Probably because it's just like me."


	6. Arrival in Japan

When the plane finally touched down, and the passengers finally reached their long-awaited destination, it was raining quite a bit.

"I hate rain," Mello whined.

"I…like rain," Near muttered, a hint of rare pleasure in his tone.

"You two are like Yin and Yang," Matt laughed.

The children were a bit sullen, because their idol had been taken away in a black car driven by Watari the moment the plane touched down. They weren't surprised. L went through rather great lengths to protect his identity.

"But how would anyone know he's L?" Mello asked, with a bit of annoyance, "Nobody ever seems to think he's L when they meet him!"

"L's paranoid," Near explained, "And we all should be. Kira's killing people with a magic killing note. Anything's possible at this point in time, really."

The boys couldn't argue with that. They were escorted into a black car, identical to L's. The security was rather intimidating. They were all in suits, and had very serious expressions. Even Near was a bit paranoid. He kept his composure, and stepped into the car, careful not to let his socks slip on the metal of the automobile, and the tall, well-built man in the driver's seat glanced at the four quickly, but abruptly returned his attention to the space directly in front of him, causing Matt to wonder what exactly was so interesting that was in front of the car. A slimmer man with an afro shut the door with careful hands, and he was almost _glaring_ at Near. A younger man swung the door open and jumped into the long leather seat, casually knocking Matt off to the side.

"Matsuda!" A stern man, still next to the jet, yelled.

"Sorry, Chief Yagami!" the man who appeared to be Matsuda cried, his palm covering his embarrassed frown. The chief shook his head in disapproval. Matsuda sighed, and the driver looked back to him, with a look that seemed to be apologizing in a silent manner.

"Mogi, we're clear to go." A voice broadcasting from the radio instructed. Mogi gave a subtle nod, as if the man in the radio was right next to him. Of course, he was not, and Near decided that Mogi was a rather quiet man. The rest of the car ride was rather quiet, aside from the occasional instruction from the radio man, awkward statement from the goofy man named Matsuda, and grunts from Mello, who was gently kicking Near's cheek with his shoe. Near rolled his eyes. It was going to be a long ride.

When they arrived at the task force building, they were told to go to their rooms and unpack. For Mello, it was a simple task of dumping his various chocolate bars into a loose dresser drawer. Every arranged her belongings in a desk drawer. Matt tossed his suitcase across the room and pulled his DS out of his pocket, and Near carefully arranged his toys in a corner of the room. Soon, the idiotic young man from before burst into the room, panting, and gasping for air.

"L is dead."

**I apologize for the shortness. I run a very tight schedule, and my dad will be home any minute. He doesn't approve of many websites. Ah, well. I hope you enjoyed this short "filler" chapter, and the story will start to take off soon, considering that (minor?) cliffhanger at the end. Thanks to The New Vampire's Willow, and Lii, for their dedicated reading, and everyone else who helped, read, and reviewed this story. I will hopefully update soon. **

**Thank you very much,**

**Eii.**


	7. I'll Live My Own Way

**Disclaimer: Death Note isn't mine.**

"Dead?" Mello choked, "Matsuda, this isn't funny. L's well-being isn't something to joke over,"

"Mello, this man isn't joking. Why would he waste his time with such an unbelievable lie?" Near scolded, looking at his feet. Mello bit his thumbnail.

"Tell us what happened," Matt said.

"He just…fell. Watari died right before," Matsuda explained, out of breath, "I'm so sorry."

"Well… who did he choose?" Mello asked, his hands clenched into fists.

"He…" Matsuda said, gasping for air.

"Tell me!" Mello shrieked, grabbing the man by the tie.

"He…. Didn't get to choose. It was too late," Matsuda sighed.

"Didn't choose? You're insane. It was Near he chose, wasn't it? You just don't want me to feel bad. Well, I don't need your useless pity!" Mello snapped.

"I'm being entirely honest with you," Matsuda told, "Maybe you can work together!"

"Together? That'd never work. Let Near have it, I don't care anymore," Mello said, looking at his feet.

"Mells, you don't hafta give it up," Matt said, placing his hand on his friends shoulder. The blonde brushed his hand off, and stepped outside them room.

"I'll live my own way," He said.

…-…-…-…-…

A week later, the task force sat at their desks, typing case files as Soichiro Yagami phoned his wife.

"My God…." Soichiro closed the phone and put it back into his pocket.

"What is it, Deputy Director Yagami?" Aizawa asked.

"Sayu's been kidnapped," Soichiro said, a tone of shock in his voice.

"That can't be right," Aizawa gasped, jumping from his chair.

"It's not official," Soichiro said, "But she's still not home. She was supposed to get home hours ago."

…-…-…-…

"Ne, Matt, Mello's not back yet?" Every asked, turning around to face the redhead. He gave his head a small shake, and continued playing his game.

"Miss him already?" She asked, smirking.

"Nah, He'll come back," Matt said, not bothering to look up.

"You sure?"

"Totally. He's gonna walk right back through that door in less than a week, I swear," Matt laughed.

"Whatever you say," Every muttered, and went back to coloring.

"Children, you need to report to the Director right away," Aizawa informed, motioning down the hall, "His daughter's been kidnapped."

"Yeesh," Matt said from his spot behind the couch.

"Matt, this is serious. It could help the case," Every said.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything helps the case," Matt mimicked.

"Shut up," Every snapped, kicking the couch, "You coming or what?"

"Nah," Matt declined.

"Well, We won't wait for you," Every snapped, and turned to walk to the task force room.

"But…what would L say?" Near questioned, teasing the redhead.

"Yes, what **would **L say, eh?"Every giggled.

"Shut up. L didn't have any friends," Matt said, peering over the couch.

"Sure he did. That Light guy, and Watari, and the Task Force…" Every listed, folding her arms behind her back.

"And us. Weren't we his friends, too?" Near asked, releasing a curl from his finger, eyes wide as he looked at the girl.

"Hm," She said, "I never thought about it like that."

"I don't know," Matt sighed, "Wouldn't you say our relationship with him, even each other, would be more professional than anything else?" Matt said.

"But we played hide and seek," Every reminded; "Only friends do that."

"Yeah, but we're playing hide and seek with Kira, too. We need to find him, and he's trying to stay out of our line of sight. Would you think of Kira as a friend?" Matt brought to mind. The others looked to their feet in thought.

"You need to hurry," Aizawa ordered. Matt rose to his feet, and they conceded with the officer.


	8. Matt's Thoughts

_**I own nothing but this story and my original characters and ideas.**_

The last hours of the Task Force's workday consisted of phone calls to the Yagami household every half hour, a constant checkup on Sachiko, as well as asking if Sayu was home yet. Sighs were heard after every phone call, a sign that Sayu was still missing. Soichiro Yagami wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and adjusted his glasses before continuing to scribble his thought process onto his notepad, as L suggested he did. _"Every thought is useful to the Kira case. We will leave no thought unrecorded," _He had said, _"Because at this rate, anything could be helpful". _Soichiro pondered this for a moment. _Was it helpful? _He wondered,_ Or evidence? Maybe both? _The thought floated through his head for a moment, but he let it go. He just needed to follow orders, and hopefully this would all come to pass. Kira would be arrested, and hopefully executed, and he could return to his family.

"Take that! And that! Nobody overprices Matt's stationary! Go to hell, Tom Nook!" Matt yelled, lunging to the ground with his DS.

"Matt…. Calm down, please, we're trying to track Sayu," Every ordered. Matt shrugged.

"Wheee! Payed off my mortgage! Yes!"

"Matt…"

"I can't believe it!"

"Matt."

"Now I have a mansion!"

"Matt!" Near and Every snapped.

"What?" the redhead whined.

"Are you alright?" Near asked.

"Of course I'm fine. Ecstatic. I was getting tired of that bastard Mello shoving me around!"

"You sure?"

"Positive. Seriously, don't worry so much."

"Sorry to bother you."

In truth, Matt was bored out of his mind without Mello. Who was to motivate him now? Nobody could ever force him into lame stuff like going to class but his best friend. All he'd learned to listen to was the blonde. Of course, it wasn't all Mello. Matt still had to come to class sometimes; Roger would push him out otherwise. Where else could he go? It wasn't like anyone was waiting on him.

But coming to every class? Out of the question. Sure, Matt had the potential. And Wammy's was for L's potential succession.

It was the last thing Matt wanted.

**A bit of filler. I apologize. Like I said, tight schedule.**

**With my extra minutes:**

**To the reviewer asking me to explain "Lii and Eii"**

**Lii is another author. We are two separate people, sharing an account. It originally belonged to Lii, but she allowed me to share. For that, I'm truly grateful. **

**As for the other question, how we know each other, it is because we're classmates. Thank you for your reviews.**


	9. A Suprise Message

**This is nine pages long, and 1,610 words, my longest chapter ever. I hope you enjoy, please review, and I don't own Death Note, only the character Every. **

For the Task Force, the days since the kidnapping had been stressful and busy. Hundreds of phone calls had been made, still with hardly any leads as a result.

For the successors, it had been a slow, quiet process. There were occasional rhythms from a pencil tapping, some deep sighs, and always the constant sound effects, beeps, and the sound of keys tapping, the source being Wammy's redheaded third place.

One of the leads was the final confirming that Sayu Yagami had, in fact, been kidnapped. This suspicion was confirmed true by a phone call from the alleged kidnapper. Not much was revealed from the culprit, however. All that was said was that they had kidnapped the officer's daughter, and that this would only be their first attack if the Task Force refused to give them what they wanted. What that was, exactly, hadn't been said. Was it money? Information? Maybe the notebook? Could it have been the Japanese police that had called, requesting their surrender? Ideas were limitless, but no one had an answer. All they could do was wait.

There was a long line of suspects, as well. Kira topped the list, per usual. But there was still L's "95% chance" suspicion of Light. However, what would be the purpose of kidnapping one's own sister? Where would he hold her? His home wasn't a possibility, work would be impossible, and anywhere between the two locations, Soichiro was at his side. The next possibility was brought up by Matsuda, after the eldest Yagami sibling had left to use the restroom.

"Deputy Director Yagami, maybe-"

"That is ridiculous, Matsuda. Get back to work," Soichiro ordered.

After the Yagami men had left to head home for the night, Aizawa quickly checked, but to no avail.

"Matsuda, you're an idiot. We all go in there, we'd have known by now."

"Sorry, 'Monchichi'."

"We keep this a secret between us that I checked. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

The suspicion didn't end there. The lengthy itemization of suspects showed it could have been X-Kira, the 2nd Kira, the police, a typical kidnapper unknowing of her father's involvement with Kira, or possibly even a new Kira, unknown to the Force.

Of course, the Wammy's kids were never informed of the phone call. They were trying to solve the case regardless, just as those at Wammy's had taught them while they were growing up. However, due to the lack of information, the three were at a complete standstill. Near didn't feel that confiding this fact in his partners was necessary, and Matt and Every refused to let admitting this first be the one thing they weren't tied at.

"Any suspects?" Near asked, emotionlessly, as he counted the numbers displayed on a stack of dice on his desk. He sat on his wooden desk chair, one knee brought to his face, the other hanging, foot pointed to the floor.

"Kira," Matt said, but it was clear he hadn't given the case much thought. For the past few days, Matt hadn't done anything but lie on his back on his bed with his arms across his chest, hands folded together in the middle of his torso. He didn't move at all, stopping only to tap a cigarette on the ashtray that rested on his nightstand, and then bring the roach to his lips to take a few puffs.

Their only clue was the NHN news. At about 9:00 pm, Kiyomi Takada would appear, sharing her opinions on Kira's views. This could last just three minutes, but if a killing had occurred, or if something else had even so much as tapped the world of Kira, her casts could last well up to fifteen minutes or more.

Every sat on a stool, eyes glued to the screen. Only her toes touched the cold wood flow. Her elbows rested on her knees. She cupped her hands around her cheekbones. Like Matt, she did not move. Occasionally there would be a familiar story in a cast that had been featured in the newspaper, and the girl would bend to grab the article to compare the two telling of the story. Other than this rare occurrence, she sat still, hardly blinking all day. Midnight fell, and Takada's newscast had long since past. Near's dice stacking had slowed down to a sluggish pace, and news stories were running out of stock for the night, becoming considerably less interesting. It was very doubtful they would contribute to anything at all. The current "story" featured a guest star; a dog named Mr. Cuddlyboots was playing Frisbee with an anchorwoman.

"I doubt this will help at all-can I turn it off now?" Every asked.

"Maybe the kidnapper is a dog," Matt mocked, lazily flailing his arms for added enthusiasm.

"I doubt it," Every said, watching Mr. Cuddlyboots sniff a plastic mushroom that was on the studio's fake lawn.

"He looks pretty suspicious," Matt joked, "I'd watch out."

As Mr. Cuddlyboots pranced to his owner, Every switched the television off. She hung her head, dropped her arms to her sides, and let out a heavy sigh. Near's tired eyes caused him to drop a die, sending the tower to the floor in an avalanche.

"You guys are weak!" Matt laughed.

"We haven't slept in three days," Near told him, "We have every right to be tired."

"My eyes hurt. Matt, how can you stand being in front of a screen all day?" Every sighed. The redhead laughed, and stood, dropping a cigarette in the ashtray.

"Why don't we just hack their information?"Matt suggested.

"L wanted them to write things down," Near said.

"Every, what are you doing?" Matt asked. She'd been dusting off her skirt.

"N-Nothing."

"You haven't been acting yourself lately."

"I could say the same for you."

"You've been acting like…"

"Don't say it."

"…Linda, almost."

"Mello told me to be more feminine."

"Mello? He's not even here anymore."

"Linda's the only girl I've talked to, my age."

"Well, Linda's Linda, and you're you. I suggest you cut the Linda act before I burst a vein out of annoyance."

"Thank you."

And with that, she displayed her usual grin, and balled her hands into fists.  
"I suggest we sleep," Near said. They knew it wasn't a suggestion, but a quiet order. Near crawled into bed, and Matt flopped down beside him. Near scowled, and hid the small showing of emotion by pulling the duvet over his face. Every crawled to the other side of the albino, and that night, they slept like they had back at Wammy's. However, the absence of Mello still lingered over their heads.

* * *

That morning, Matt opened their door for the first time since Mello had left. He marched right out the door, straight through the halls, stopping outside the Task Force workroom. There, he intended to listen in on their findings. But this plan was unnecessary. Light Yagami suggested something to the officers.

"Why don't I update the children?"

This surprised Matt. He hadn't expected Light to up their chances in anything. Regardless, Matt ran back to the room after hearing the unanimous vote that Light tell the successors. Apparently, they'd nearly forgotten the Wammy's kids were even in Japan at all. Once Matt had returned, he flung himself onto the couch, catching his breath just seconds before Light arrived. Light entered to find Matt hanging upside-down off the couch, his arms and legs sprawled out like dirty laundry.

"Yo," Matt greeted.

"Um…Hello," Light said, brushing some hair out of his eyes, "I'm sure you may have heard we have a new case on our hands, that is-"

"Yeah, your kid sister got snatched, am I right?"

"Correct. I wanted to inform you that we've recieved a phone call from the kidnapper."

"Right."

"We never received any information, but the suspect wants to negotiate-"

"Can I ask you something?" Near interrupted.

"Yes, What is it?" Light asked, annoyed.

"Did it sound like the caller was eating something?"

"There were some snapping sounds I heard. So yes, I suppose."

"Thank you. That's all we need."

"Excuse me?"

"You may go."

Light reluctantly stood, and hesitantly exited the door.

"There we have it."

"Mello?"

"Absolutely. As to why he did something so stupid, we'll have to find out."

"Of course."

* * *

"Matt, Every, can I see you for a moment?" Aizawa asked. Ide walked to the room's entrance behind the man, and looked to Near.

"And Near, please come with me."

Reluctantly, the boy stood and followed the man, leaving his tower of tarot cards. The third place rivals followed the other officer, and would turn their heads to see the departing first-place, who was headed in the opposite direction of them. Once the albino was out of sight, they did not take their eyes away from the laptop tucked under Aizawa's arm.

"Matt, Every, I think its best you two return to Wammy's," Roger's voice projected from Aizawa's computer, and the screen displayed a cloister black "R" with a white background.

"And I think you're crazy," Matt snapped.

"Would you like me to it simply? We need you here. Mello is missing, and we've all agreed Near can handle this on his own."

"So Near wins? That's it?"

"Matt, this was never a competition, and you know that."

"All it is is a competition, a race to become L."

"If you insist on keeping that mentality, then fine. Consider this a break in your little competition."

"L didn't take breaks."

"You're both coming home. Your plane arrives next week."

"What if Mello comes back?"

"Then the three of you will return together."

A long moment of silence passed, and the orphans were asked to leave.


End file.
